My point was not that US or other donor economic aid causes insurrection, although given the hypocrisy around settlements in Israel that is debatable. Rather, it is that if we assume an existing level of stability and rationality (so not talking about Afghanistan), aid directed to improved governan...

What I am wondering is partly, if these policies make good sense in terms of promoting economic growth, why is it so hard to generate broader public support on the basis of evidence, so that terrorists and others who aim to wreck the economy will find it more difficult to get popular support? Surel...

My concern is that if, as I believe, conservative economic policy is the best way to maximise economic growth, then why does conservative policy also need to be accompanied by massive military spending? Robert: Would you please clarify? I don't understand your point here. In the sentence quoted her...

Gershom Gorenberg and David Frum have a very interesting Bloggingheads discussion this week about Israeli politics and the settlements: http://bloggingheads.tv/diavlogs/17943 .

I wish that the world was all right and that The USA WANTS to help other nations develop. But all the evidence AND facts point to the contrary. I disagree. Here is the US AID Website describing the full range of the U.S.'s programs promoting development in other nations: http://www.usaid.gov/our_wo...

Grim wrote: The trouble is that even when you point out the problems it is easier for someone to disagree by simply repeating the ideals of the present which have caused the problems without any intelligent development of thought. I believe that the dozens of scholarly works cited in the World Bank ...

US AID mission statement: about as deep as the shallow end. Next time just quote George Bush as your moral authority. Grim: First, I cited the US AID statement as economic policy, not as moral authority. My understanding is that this discussion concerns economics, not ethics. Second, respecting the...

why Israel is America's only friend in the Middle East The U.S.'s allies in the Middle East include Egypt, Turkey, Saudi Arabia, Jordan, Iraq, and Kuwait, as well as Israel. Israel's allies in the Middle East include Egypt, Jordan, Turkey, and Iraq. Syria and Lebanon may become allies, if a peace a...

It is in the interest of the USA for everyone to be rich. Abundance for all enables people to fulfill their potential through peaceful economic development rather than through crime and war. Hear, hear, Robert. I think this is a fine summary of U.S. economic policy respecting other nations. The U.S...

Your presenting the numbers as a percentage of GDP distracts attention from the massive, unaffordable, dangerous and rapidly rising real amount. The U.S. Secretary of Defense commonly characterizes the U.S. defense budget as a percentage of GDP, see, e.g., http://www.defenselink.mil/speeches/speech...